Railroad Smashup
AKA [Locomotive Head-on Collision]
(1904) American
B&W : 80 feet
Directed by [?] Edwin S. Porter and/or Alfred C. Abadie?

Cast: (unknown)

Edison Manufacturing Company production; distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company. / Cinematography by Edwin S. Porter and Alfred C. Abadie. / © 19 September 1904 by Thomas A. Edison [H50587]. Released November 1904. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format.

Synopsis: [From Edison promotional material] : An excellent picture of a head-on collision between two modern locomotives, taken at Revere Beach, Mass., August 27, 1901. A special line of track about 2,800 feet in length was laid for this occasion. At each end a locomotive is stationed. The Signal is given, and each engineer pulls the throttle and whistle wide open and then jumps from the cab. Both machines seem to fairly leap toward each other. When the engines come together they seem to rebound and plunge again at each other, and it seems as if the locomotive was shrieking with pain. Both monsters are badly demolished. The only motion picture ever made of a collision between two railway locomotives.

Survival Status: Print exists.

Listing updated: 15 January 2008.

References: Website-AFI.